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Follow your faith, heal the earth, cure yourselves and live a humane and peaceful co-existence with God's creations.

WHY VEGGIES?

Environment

Day in and day out, we are bombarded with chilling news of destructive hurricanes/typhoons destroying properties and snuffing out countless lives; we saw the alarming effects of global warming that melts the vast polar ice caps, thus, flooding the low-lying islands in the Pacific and perhaps Metro Manila if this could not be alleviated; we see thousands of people dying of hunger in Africa and the rice shortage and increasing food costs in our country and Asian neighbors; we read about people suffering from animal-borne fatal diseases like the bird flu and mad cow; doctors warn us of the rising incidence of lifestyle-related disorders such as diabetes, cancer, cardio-vascular diseases that used to affect the elderly but has recently afflict even the young whorepresent the productive sector of our society. Now, you may ask what is the connection between vegan and all those dreadful events I mentioned above? Vegan is a person who abstains from the consumption of animals either for food or material use. In other words, a vegan does not go to McDonald's or Jollibee to gobble on those artery-clogging cheese burgers or shop at Rustan's for signature leather goods, much less buy on perfumes that were tested on animals. He/She does so for religious, moral, environmental and health reasons. Nothing else. Again, the connection? Let me start with the environmental reason for the choosen few who opted to take the road less travelled - a vegan lifestyle. Environmental disasters that are so common now a days in the world we live in are a consequence to the kind of lifestyle that you have, not the least of it, on your decision as to what you are going to have for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You may ask "What's my foods got to do with the with the environmental disasters like global warming or the hurricane that hit Burma?" Well it does. Animal farming like hog and chicken farms, ranches and fish ponds to mention a few, consume a lot of earth's resources like water for drinking and cleaning, electric power for lighting and machineries, fossil fuels for animal transport, grains as animal feeds that could easily feed the hungry around the world, timber used as cages and tons of medicines to prevent animal epedimic . This exorbitant cost of production explains why animal-based diet is very expensive compared to a plant-based diet. Not only do animal farming deplete the remaining resources of our planet, they also cause so much pollution in the form of contamination in water tables due to leeching, increased carbon dioxide emissions and air pollution as a result of foul odor coming from animal factories. Furthermore, vast tracks of forest lands in Brazil and Latin America - the earth's main source of oxygen - are cut down and burned everyday to give way to cattle ranches so that the carnivores among us can have their steaks and burgers on their table. Even our remaining Philippine forest or what is left of it, is not spared from this irresponsible and destructive deforestation. You don't have to bea rocket scientist to know the importance of trees in our ecosystem in particular, and to the world environment in general. Trees absorb the tons of carbon dioxide from the fossil fuels burned from most form of transportation vehicles, from power plants that supply the society's ever rising demand for electricity, from the factories that continuously churn out material goods to supply people's insatiable appetite for them and from the methane gas emitted by millions of tons animal wastes raised for food production. When the number of trees left standing is severely diminished due to wanton cutting to give way to animal farms so that the carnivores among us can continue to savor the flesh and blood of the poor animals, which is clearly apparent now, it is when landslides occcur where farmlands are destroyed, homes washed ashore and people buried alive. As if not to be outdone, greenhouse effect worsens thereby raising global temperature to atmospheric level and, as a result, melts the ice in the cold regions of the earth that, in turn, increases the sea level that floods and successfully vanishes from the world map some islands in the Pacific and Caribbean. It may not be too long if our very own low-lying islands in the Philippines and below sea-level cities in Metro Manila may also eventually disappear . All this because majority of our fellowmen choose to eat animals as foods and consume material goods derive from them with total disregard for the welfare of other people both in our own country and those who live accross the globe. What is apparent now is that whatever you decide to have on your dinner plate for breakfast, lunch and dinner can have a significant impact, good or bad, on our environment. You have the power within you to change the present dire situation in your own little way if you only care; if you cease to have a self-centered life that cares to no one but yourself alone, - a selfish human existence if you like! We have to remember that the true essence of human existence in this world is to be of service and help for other people especially the needy, the defenseless, the hopeless and those who live on sub-human living conditions whose dignity as human beings is destroyed, and who, like you, was also created in the image of our Creator. This has to stop and you can do that by taking a small but significant step such as, but not limited to, altering your food choices and lifestyle: from a bloody, callous, physically debilitating, environmentally destructive and inhumane dietary pattern to a guilt-free, loving, peaceful, healthy and less costly way of living - veganism.

- MGC

Biblical

The human body is the temple of God. It is our duty to take care of it in whatever way we can and do so to the best of our ability. Since this is the case, it is only imperative that we have to keep our bodies clean at all times and prevent any form of defilement or body contamination caused by such vices as alcohol drinking, smoking, drug abuse and the consumption of animal flesh and blood. There are relevant biblical passages that clearly encouraged us to be vegetarian - abstinence of flesh-eating - for reasons ranging from good health (in the case of Daniel and the young wise men of Israel) and religious mandate as one finds in the Genesis and Deuteronomy. Some Christians may disagree with my contention regarding Biblical inspiration to practice vegetarianism but people don't have to go far but read the passages on the side bar quotations and interpret those for themselves. My understanding and interpretation of those biblical passages tell me that God, in the beginning, wanted His people to abstain from consuming meat for food and, instead, instructed them to eat only the seeds, fruits and vegetations that are abundant on earth. In fact, God gave our foreparents Adam and Eve a garden where they could eat all the fruits inside, except the fruits of the tree of knowledge. Again, God made a garden with all the sumptuous fruits in it for our parents to eat and not an animal farm where animal flesh can be had. In the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament, Daniel and the three young wise men of Israel refused to eat the food allowance from the royal table - and for most scholars royal foods were most likely made of meat and other animal foods - because they did not want to defile their bodies. They instead chose only vegetables to eat and water to drink - instead of wine - and emerged healthier, good-looking and than those young men who consumed the royal foods in just a matter of ten days! And because of their loyalty to Him in the way of keeping their bodies clean and free of impurities or defilement by refusing to eat the royal foods, God gave them knowledge and intelligence with anything related to literature. Daniel became one of the King's trusted young men in Israel. This account had transpired thousands of years ago and yet, we the present generation and the generations before us, seemed to have not learned anything from it. We should now be wise enough to learn from Daniel and his group: keep our bodies clean and free from any form of defilements such as wine drinking, meat-eating and smartly so include the modern vices that can also cause body abuse or impurities. We always have to inculcate this in our consciousness that our body is a temple of God that needs to be taken care of and keep it clean, physically and spiritually, as what Daniel did eons ago.

- MGC

Economics

There is no debate that due to high cost of production, meats and other animal foods are more expensive than plant foods. A kilo of beef or pork for example costs five times more than say a kilo of rice or grains. A basic math computation brings us to a realization that indeed if man is able to keep his eating pattern simple and meat-free, and stick only to grains, root crops, vegetables and the like, he can save a lot financially. And, because man sticks to a vegetarian diet and lifestyle, he also does his society a great favor by sparing the environment from further degradation that can have huge and visible social impact in terms of air, water and land pollutions, man-induced weather calamities, global warming and the depletion of our remaining natural resources. Governments all over the world spend billions of precious money annually (a money that could otherwise be used for other pressing matters) in fighting environmental problems and providing relief goods for the victims of these man-made calamities. Fruits and vegetables are easier and cheaper to prepare: for fruits, you don't need additional expensive ingredients to keep them ready; you don't use energy such as gas or electricity anymore for cooking; no more plates and utensils to wash after eating that could have jacked up your water bills if you do otherwise, and you save valuable time because fruits do not need much preparations (unlike meat or meat-based stuffs!) and, most of all, there's no need for cooking! This may seem intangible at first glance but you add up these variables (food ingredients, cooking gas, time for food preparations - cutting and washing, time for actual cooking, time and water cost for washing plates and utensils, garbage output, etc.) you will be surprised to know that in one year the actual cost can easily reach a few thousands for an average household. Given this scenario, just imagine how many millions can be saved annually if people will now switch from a costly carnivorous diet and lifestyle to an economically viable plant-based diet.

- MGC

Ethical

It is abosolutely selfish for human beings to snuff out the lives of other sentient beings just to sustain their own. Animals also deserve to live and enjoy life as they know it; it is not for us to kill them so that we may have meat dishes on our table and pretend that what we are doing is pretty normal and simply exercise our dominion over them. But it is not natural for humans to go on a killing spree and nourish their bodies with the carcasse of these butchered animals knowing that thay have blood in their hands; knowing that they have just murdered a creature that was also created by God - not as his food because He instructed man to eat the vegetations of the earth instead. Whe a man eats an animal, he in the process, makes himself a walking and living graveyard of the dead beings who rot inside his body that will make him stink, make him sick, brings him bad karma (some societies believed because to them animals also have spirits), causes inner turmoil in his well-being and makes the person emotionally agrressive due to the stress hormones and toxins released by the animals as they go through the horrifying experience of pain and death as they are about to be butchered violently. Now, just imagine for a minute that you were one of those animals pick up in the slaughter house for butchering. How would you feel? My hunch is that you will shiver in fear and probably pee in your pants knowing fully well about your fate a few minutes before your execution. If we only follow the golden rule, these sentient beings should have been spared from this form of bloody, unfair and unnecessary killings as a consequence of the dictates of our taste buds due to years of wrongful dietary patterns. In this regard, we are also as much as victims because these wongful dietary patterns were imposed on us by our significant people who were also brought up in the same harmful and ruthless dietary patterns by their parents who, in the same manner, also went through that same upbringing. But now that you already have the power to change the present situation and your fate, it is entirely in your hands to either maintain the bloody and unethical status quo of your diet and lifestyle or make a stand to change it all for your own good, for the good of mankind, for animal welfare and for sustainable environment. We cannot achieve peace and harmony in this world if we cannot even be kind to the lower life forms; it is just plain double talk for people to call for peace, love and harmony, yet they have blood in their hands and rotting corpses in their curling stomachs. In fact, if we only have the right perspective on how animals should be treated, we can discern in no uncertain terms that there's almost no difference to the killing of an animal to the murder of a human being. When people continue to consume animals as foods, they are as if accessories to the crime of murder who, unknowingly, promotes continuous animal killings due to their patronage of meat foods and animal-derived products such as leather goods and the likes. And when people suffer and die from man-induced calamaties (refer to Environment above) such as when landslides occur because trees are cut to give way to cow ranches in order to increase beef production and meet the demands of carnivorous consumers for teaks and burgers for example, then, these people are themselves ethically accountable for the tragedy. In my illustration, had there been no increased demand for beef, no cutting of trees could have transpired, and no landslide could have caused the lost of lives and damage to properties. This is no different from the cruel situation wherein the grains in the United States and rich countries in Europe are just being used as animals feeds for the animals raised in their farms so that the meat-eating among them and us (we also import meat from these countries) can have these foods on their tables while millions of people around the world die of hunger anually. These millions of metric tons of grains could easily feed the hungry people in Africa and Asia if they only care; if they can only reduced their meat consumption or totally switch from a carnivorous diet and wasteful living to a plant-based diet and vegan lifestyle. In your own little way, you can make a difference; you have the freedom and the power within you to make a stand and change the world no matter how uncomfortable and unpopular that stand may be. Take the first step now, switch to a vegan diet and lifestyle and help keep this world a better place to live in both for mankind and God-created sentient beings.

- MGC

Plants as Medicine

"Let thy foods be your medicine." These were the words of Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine more than two thousand years ago. And still, this rings true today. But this piece of medical advise from one of the greatest physicians of all has always been taken for granted by the modern generation; cure rather than prevention is the order of the day; the present crop of physicians are unfortunately often trained only to treat the symptoms with synthetic medicines that are often harmful to the human body in the long run. In the words of Dr. David Reuben, a famous and respected American doctor of medicine, to his fellow physicians in his best-selling book Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Nutrition and I quote:" There is a whole category of substances that have a far more intense effect on our patients than drugs. That category is food - and through no fault of our own, we have neglected that area of medicine. Our medical education neglected it, our internships neglected it, and our residences neglected it. And for good reason - we have to take care of great masses of sick people. But now it is becoming obvious, with each successive issue of our most responsible medical journals, that many of these 'sick people' are sick specifically because of what they are eating - or not eating." Dr. Reuben further added, "People of America , the greatest threat to the survival of you and your children is not some terrible nuclear weapon. It is what you are going to eat from your dinner plate tonight." The human body was designed to eat only plants and was never intended to eat dead flesh. Our teeth structure for example is quite similar to that of herbivore animals like carabaos, goats, giraffes and others. The inner molars are perfectly crafted to chew grasses, leaves, nuts or any edible plant materials. We do not have canines that can cut through uncooked flesh just like that of carnivorous animals such as the big cats - lions, tigers, puma, etc. The human saliva is also much less acidic compared to that of the carnivourous animals, the reason being, is that tigers, lions and othe fresh flesh-eating creatures need too much acids in their saliva in order to break down the uncooked meat and start digestion in their mouths. These animals also have very powerful gastric juices that digest some more the unchewed flesh in their guts but can easily rapture human stomachs had they been present there. The human intestines are five times longer than his body lenght and are designed to extract all the vitamins and enzymes from the foods that he eats; while carnivorous animals have intestines shorter than their body lenghts the purpose of which is to make it easier and faster for them to move their bowels or the rotting waste out of their digestive system that are very toxic! These rotting flesh, if they got stocked inside longer than it should, are so harmful that they can handily kill these animals in a matter of days. This is the reason, according to some theories, why man only started eating flesh or animals after the discovery of fire because his stomach cannot "stomach" the uncooked animal foods; this is also the reason why man only began consuming animals after the discovery of fire because he didn't have the incissors that could cut through the flesh of a carcasse. In other words, man orignally was a plant-eating being who consumed only edible grasses, leaves, fruits, nuts, grains, crops and other forms of vegetation. And these are precisely the kinds of foods that the human body needs for its nourishment; these are the live foods that can sustain life because they are replete with vitamins, minerals, fibers, and such recently discovered super vitamins: phytochemicals and anti-oxidants! The human body is a very sophisticated machine that no other machine in this world can match it, but just like any other machine, it breaks down if it is not properly maintained by means of right fuels, in this case, the right foods. Mothers have this maternal instinct when they tell their children: "Eat your veggies honey." And rightly so. The "poor" veggies that must be consumed everyday (The American Cancer Society and U.S. Department of Health recommend at least 7 servings of fruits and vegetables daily) are unfortunately relegated as decorations or garnish to the main dishes of steaks, burgers, deep-fried foods and the likes. The plant foods that children eat today are those that are highly processed and refined such as french fries, potato and corn chips and myriad of junk foods that have no nutritional value at all. I must also debunk the "protein myth" (promulgated all theses years by the big meat-trading businesses) that says animal foods are indispensable because our body needs protein. Yes, protein is important for normal bodily functions such as cell growth and repairs but this protein doesn't have to come from animals. In fact, our body needs only a miniscule amount of protein to keep this bodily functions working that can easily be supplied by plant protein such as beans, tofu and other soya-based foods. It is even more harmful to the human body if too much protein is taken in such as when we eat too much animal foods and dairy products causing kidney diseases, uric acid and gout, obesity, osteoporosis, diabetes, gallstones and other debilitating diseases known to man! This protein myth had been proven wrong by the herbivore animals in the wild. Elephants, horses, giraffes, gorillas, hippopotamus and others are so healthy, strong and have longer average lifespan (elephants can live up to 80 years!) than carnivorous animals like lions and tigers (they live only up to 30 years), and yet, these plant-eating mammals never consume animal proteins at all! These herbivore animals get their protein only from the variety of plants available in their immediate surroundings which they eat on a daily basis. These are the same animals that are free of affliction from the modern diseases that cripple and disable animal protein-consuming people of the present generation! It's about time that we learn from this observation; nature tells us that we can sustain the protein needs of our bodies from plant sources that are safe and nutritious, and not from the highly concentrated animal protein that have been proven harmful to the human body.

- MGC

Lifestyle and Philosophy

The vegan lifstyle is not wholly confined to a dietary restriction of meat abstinence and live fully on fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts for peaceful, healthy, economically cheaper, ecologically sustainable and God-compliant diet. Vegan lifestyle calls for a life that is dedicated to the service of mankind especially the poor and helpless in our society and even to those outside our country if our resources permit. Vegan lifestyle also adheres to all efforts that promote the conservation of our planet's resources and the protection of our environment for ecological sustainability. A vegan person always strive hard to help other people who are in need and dedicate his life for the humane treatment of animals. It is his firm belief that animals were not created by God to be exploited unnecessarily, however, man can use certain animals for his chores such as farming and carrying of heavy loads but not to kill them for such vanity as leather goods, sports hunting, furs and harmful medical experiments. To him animal consumption is wasteful, nutritionally unnecessary (for man can sustain his life on plants alone), obviously expensive, environmentally destructive and ethically wrong. We need to correct our society's hypocracy towards animals where most people take some animals as pets such as dogs, cats, birds and others but never bother if some animals (pigs, cows, sheep, goats, tigers, endangered species, some dogs, etc.) are bloodily slaughtered for foods and materials such as leather, furs, clothing, or house ornaments. Don't cows and pigs also deserve to be treated humanely? They do. All animals, wether domesticated or in the wild, deserve to be taken care of just as we shower with so much affection and concern to our pets. Now, is the vegan lifestyle solely confined on dietary restrictions? No. To be a vegan is to be an environmentalist, animal rights and welfare activist, humanitarian, health conscious, peace advocate, patriotic and a God-abiding being, all rolled into one. The vegan undertaking starts with the advocacy for the humane treatment of animals because that is connected to the other important issues like environmental protection, natural resources conservation, peace and harmony amongst peoples, justice and equality, public health, economic efficiency and the basic exercise of a Christian duty. I am writing this from a Christian perspective because I happen to be one, but this should be made clear that veganism is denomination-free, hence, it is for everyone irrespective of religion, race, gender, age, education, social strata and other mundane biases that has often divided mankind throughout the ages. TVE is not intended to promote radicalism and cause rancour among our people; on the contrary, veganism is the key towards lasting peace and harmony on this planet; it is the solution to the unabated environmental destruction; put a stop on the rampant abuse on our country's and the world's resources; an effective and natural antidote to the increasing cost on public health due to the rising cases of preventable lifestyle-related epidemic as a consequence of excessive animal-food consumption; and veganism also promotes justice and equality. It is the philosophy of a vegan person to live a life of charity: always sharing his resources to those who are in need without encouraging mendicancy; he/she allots part of his resources and time to noble advocacies, such as but not limited to, TVE (the few vegans of the earth); he deals his fellowmen fairly and humanely and obeys the commandments of his faith - one of these, is the commandment not to consume animals as foods or subject them to any form of cruelty. In a nutshell, a true vegan lives less for himself and share more for others. To him, veering away from a self-centered and ruthless existence is the greatest love of all.

- MGC

Biblical Inspirations and Vegan Quotations

"God said, 'See, I give you all the seed-bearing plants that are upon the the whole earth, and all the trees with seed-bearing fruit; this shall be your food." - Genesis 1:2

"In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched on Gerusalem and besieged it. The Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hands, with some of the furnishings of the Temple of God. He took them away to the land of Shinar, and stored the sacred vessels in the treasury of his own gods. The king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to select from the Israelites a certain number of boys of either royal or noble descent; they had to be without any physical defect, of good appearance, trained in every kind of wisdom, well-informed, quick at learning, suitable for service in the palace of the king. Ashpenaz himself was to teach them the language and literature of the Chaldeans. The king assigned them a daily allowance of food and wine from his royal table. They were to receive an education lasting for three years, after which they were expected to be fit for the king's society. Among them were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, who were Judaeans. The chief eunuch gave them other names, calling Daniel Belteshazzar, Hananiah Shadrach, Mishael Meshach and Azariah Abednego. Daniel, who was most anxious not to defile himself with the food and wine from the royal table, begged the chief eunuch to spare him this defilement; and by the grace of God Daniel met goodwill and sympathy on the part of the chief eunuch. But he warned Daniel, 'I am afraid of my lord the king: he has assigned you food and drink, and if he sees you looking thinner in the face than the other boys of your age, my head will be in danger with the king because of you. At this Daniel turned to the guard whom the chief eunuch had assigned to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. He said, 'Please allow your servants a ten days' trial, during which we are given only vegetables to eat and water to drink. You can then compare our looks with those of the boys who eat the king's food; go by what you see, and treat your servants accordingly.' The man agreed to do what they asked and put them on ten days' trial. When the ten days were over they looked and were in better health than any of the boys who had eaten their allowance from the royal table; so the guard withdrew their allowance of food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. And God favoured these four boys with knowledge and intelligence in everything connected with literature, and in wisdom; while Daniel had the gift of interpreting every kind of vision and dream."

- Book of Daniel 1: 1-18 (Old Testament)

"And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet chooweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase."

- Deuteronomy 14:8

"A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food; therefore, if he eats meat, he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his appetite. And to act so is immoral."

- Leo Tolstoy

"Do we, as humans, having an ability to reason and to communicate abstract ideas verbally and in writing, and to form ethical and moral judgments using the accumulated knowledge of the ages, have the right to take the lives of other sentient organisms, particularly when we are not forced to do so by hunger or dietary need, but rather do do for the somewhat frivolous reason that we like the taste of meat? In essence, shouldn't we know better?"

- Peter Cheeke

"As long as Man continues to be the ruthless destroyer of lower living beings, he will never know health or peace. Foe as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love."

- Pythagoras

"Let thy food be your medicine." - Hippocrates

"You are what you eat." - American Proverb

"If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who deal likewise with their fellow men. Not to hurt our humble brethren is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough. We have a higher mission - to be of service to them wherever they require it."

- St. Francis of Assisi

"As long as man continues to be the ruthless destroyer of lower living beings he will never know health or peace. For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love." - Pythagoras

"The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man." - Charles Darwin (1809-1882) English biologist and naturalist

"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." - Albert Einstein (1879-1955) German-born American Physicist

"The highest realms of thought are impossible to reach without first attaining an understanding of compassion." - Socrates (469-399 B.C.)

"If a man earnestly seeks a righteous life, his first act of abstinence is from animal food..." - Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) Russian novelist and philosopher

"The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they look upon the murder of men." - Leonardo da Vinci (1425-1519) Italian sculptor, artist, inventor

"But for the sake of some little mouthful of meat, we deprive a soul of the sun and light, and of that proportion of life and time it had been born into the world to enjoy." - Seneca

"The gods created certain kinds of beings to replenish our bodies... they are the trees and the plants and the seeds." - Plato

"Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages." - Thomas Edison

"While we ourselves are the living graves of murdered beasts, how can we expect any ideal condition on this earth." - George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Anglo-Irish author and playright

"Truly man is the king of beast, for his brutality exceeds theirs. We live by the death of others. We are burial places! - Leonardo da Vinci

"A man can can live and be healthy without killing animals for food; therefore, if he eats meat, he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his appetite. And to act so is immoral." - On Civil Disobedience

"I am conscious that meat eating is not in accordance with the finer feelings, and I abstain from it whenever I can." - Dr. Albert Schweitzer M.D. (1875-1965) 1952 Nobel Peace Prize Recipient

"It is very significant that some of the most thoughtful and cultured men are partisans of pure vegetable diet." - Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) Hindu Pacifist, spiritual leader

"My refusing to eat meat occasioned an inconveniency, and I have been frequently chided for my singularity. But my light repast allows for greater progress, for greater clearness of head and quicker comprehension." - Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American Statesman, inventor and author

"The average age (longevity) of a meat-eater is 63. I am on the verge of 85 and still work as hard as ever. I haved lived quite long enough and am trying to die, but I simply cannot do it. A single beef-steak would finish me, But I cannot bring myself to swallow it. I am oppressed with a dread of living forever. That is the only disadvantage of vegetarianism."

- George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

"The obligations of law and equity reach only to mankind; but kindness and beneficence should be extended to the creatures of every species, and these will flow from the breast of a true man, as streams that issue from the living fountain."

- Plutarch (46-120AD) Greek Philosopher

"The animals share with us the privilege of having a soul." - Pythagoras (circa 582-507 B.C.) Greek philosopher, mathematician "Father of Vegetarianism" *Early vegetarians were called Pythagorians.

"The eating of meat extinguishes the seed of great compassion." - The Buddha (circa 563-483 B.C.) Indian avatar

"Every man who has ever been earnest to preserve his higher or poetic faculties in the best condition, has been particularly inclined to abstain from animal food."

- Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American author

"People often say that humans have always eaten animals, as if this is a justification for continuing the practice. According to this logic, we should not try to prevent people from murdering people, since this has also been done since the earliest of times."

"The moral duty of man consists of imitating the moral goodness and beneficence of God, manifested in the creation, toward all His creatures." Thomas Paine (1737-1809) English-born American Patriot, author and political thinker. The Age of Reason

For those who believed, join us. Your help means a lot to propagate a life of charity, spiritual and physical healing, harmony with nature, inner peace, beauty and love for mankind and God's creations.